As the summer holiday season heats up, Acting Premier Rob Hulls has warned parents about the dangers of leaving young children unattended in cars.

Mr Hulls joined Kidsafe Victoria at Parliament House to demonstrate how quickly the inside temperature of a car can increase to dangerous levels.

?All parents must be aware that in most states, including Victoria, it is against the law to leave a child unattended in a vehicle,? Mr Hulls said.

?In Victoria alone, the RACV was called out to rescue 1543 children locked in cars from November 2008 to October 2009.

?Despite repeated warnings, yesterday as the temperature reached almost 40 degrees in Melbourne and climbing higher in some regional centres, there were two ambulance call-outs to instances where children had been left in cars and needed medical attention.

?Leaving a child unsupervised in a car ? even for a short amount of time ? can cause injury and potentially death.?

On a typical summer?s day, the temperature inside a parked car can be as high as 20 to 30 degrees hotter than the outside temperature.

Tests conducted on a 29°C day, with the car?s air conditioning having cooled the interior to 19.2°C, it took just 1.5 minutes to reach the outside temperature (30.4°C). It took 6.5 minutes to reach 40.5°C, more than double the initial interior temperature.

Mr Hulls said these dangerous temperatures could rapidly lead to heat distress, to which children were likely to succumb very quickly.

?Research has shown that leaving the window down has little effect, so take your child with you after parking your car, even to run a quick errand,? Mr Hulls said.

President of Kidsafe Victoria, Dr Mark Stokes, said children in the past had died after being left in parked cars.

?Due to their smaller body size and underdeveloped nervous system, children have an ineffective cooling system,? Dr Stokes said. ?Information for parents and carers about the impact of leaving a child in a hot car is available on the Kidsafe website.?

The fact sheet Kids in Hot Cars provides information and advice for parents about summer safety issues including:

·         Providing plenty of cool fluids to avoid dehydration during long trips;

·         Dressing children appropriately in hot weather;

·         Ensuring all children wear well fitted, and age appropriate restraints; and

·         Plan travel in the cool hours of the day.